The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to an invisible setting for diamonds and other precious stones that are faceted, and methods and tools for effecting such settings.
Invisible settings have been around for many years and have been very successful. The traditional invisible mounting involves fitting a protrusion of the setting, or mounting medium into a groove pre-formed in the stone. The groove is hidden behind the face of the stone, hence the face hiding the mounting, which therefore becomes invisible. The setting or mounting medium may be the metal body of the ring or other jewelry item.
A well-known problem with invisible mountings is the ease with which the stone is able to fall out of the mounting. The setting can often change shape over time. The finger on which the ring is mounted may change shape over time, or the metal may expand or contract with changes in temperature, so that what began as a tight fit may get looser over time until the stone falls out. Where multiple stones are mounted in a row, if the setting bends in a particular direction all of the stones are liable to fall out.
A further issue with invisible settings is the time and skilled labor required to set a stone, or replace a stone after it falls out. A tight fit is required by making a secure mounting at a location that cannot be seen, and the stones themselves are generally quite small. Setting a single stone typically takes in excess of twenty minutes in the hands of a skilled setter.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,552 teaches an invisible gemstone setting having channels into which the grooved gemstones are snapped and secured. Each channel is provided with opposing flexible prong members extending from the base of the gemstone setting. As the grooved gemstones are snapped into the channels the prong members flex outwardly as the gemstones are pushed downwards into the channels. The prong members snap into engagement with the gemstones to securely hold the gemstones within the channels. When the channels are filled the setting becomes invisible.
Again, the gemstone is more easily mounted but the same problem arises that if the setting changes shape, the initially firm grip on the gemstone is liable to be lost.
Current invisible setting technologies allow setting of hard stones into semi-hard metal mountings, and are practically limited to setting of diamonds in gold. Use of softer stones or softer or harder metals result in breakage of the stone during setting (e.g., when the stone is soft and the metal hard) and/or falling off of the stone during use (e.g., when the metal is soft and readily distorts).